Former Clarkston priest is new bishop

John A. MacInnes

A former Clarkston parish priest has been appointed by the Pope as the new bishop for Argyll and The Isles, a post which had been vacant for the last 18 months.

Monsignor Brian McGee (50) spent more than a decade as the local priest at St Joseph’s.

Born in Greenock in 1965 tp parents from Donegal and Belfast, Mgr McGee attended school in the Inverclyde town before attending seminary at St Patrick’s College in Thurles, County Tipperary.

He was ordained priest for the Diocese of Paisley in 1989, before then moving to Clarkston.

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley said: “Many congratulations to Bishop Elect Brian on his appointment by Pope Francis to Argyll and the Isles. I am not at all surprised that he has been chosen for this important office.

“He is loved and respected dearly by his own parishioners in Holy Family, Port Glasgow, who will miss him, and his elevation leaves big shoes to fill in the diocese of Paisley.

“I can assure the clergy and people of Argyll and the Isles that they are getting a pastor who will give his all to serving them with justice and who will lead them well.”